Machines are taking over! Well, not really. But they certainly are being integrated into our daily lives more and more as the days go by. Case in point: last Friday, a UVic classmate of mine attended our Technology Innovation course via ‘robot’ from Vancouver. This sophisticated device allowed her to listen to the lecture, move around the classroom with her robot wheels, and interact with her classmates and professor – essentially, she was (almost) as present in the class as those who were physically there. As someone witnessing the robot in action, I found the experience both fascinating and hilarious. If you had told me 10 years ago (or 10 days ago) that this technology was available at universities today, I wouldn’t have believed it. But I’ve seen it, and now I believe it. Technology like this is amazing because it makes education more flexible and accessible for people who would otherwise be handicapped by their unique life circumstances. This is, in essence, inclusive technology, and I am all for it. The robot, of course, was not without it’s limitations. The human user said it was often difficult to hear what people in the classroom were saying because there was a significant amount of background noise; the user also had difficulty getting the professor’s attention when she had a question (perhaps a red light indicating the robot user had a question would be beneficial?). That said, I found this to be a practical, fun, and effective way for a student to be included in the classroom from a distance. I look forward to see what innovations and improvements the future holds in this technological area (be sure to click the link above for video of the robot in action!).
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